Norman Wisdom was once a director at Brighton, Tommy Trinder was the chairman of Fulham and Eric Morecambe sat on the board at Luton. Football can do with a laugh from time to time.

Then there is that rib-tickling American double act at Liverpool, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, whose financial acumen appears to be akin to that of Sgt Ernie Bilko, the leading character in a long-running TV show which bore the tagline "You'll never get rich". They can say that again. Hicks and Gillett stand to lose £144m and possibly much more if the proposed sale of Liverpool to the owners of the Boston Red Sox goes through.

Texans do not give up easily and there was a touch of the Alamo about Hicks's efforts to get two of the directors replaced before the board meeting on Tuesday that agreed on a sale designed to clear the club's debts of around £300m but leaving the present owners with nothing for their shares or their loans. Having failed to stop the deal in its tracks Hicks and Gillett are now expected to go to the high court, which is where these things usually end up.

When the couple first appeared at Anfield early in 2007 Liverpool lay third in the Premier League and were heading for another Champions League final. Now they are in the bottom three and their chances of making a quick return to the Champions League are already receding fast. Protesting fans bearing red banners are on the march in scenes reminiscent of the general strike.

In the space of three and a half years Liverpool have gone from powerhouse to bleak house. They have been league champions 18 times and champions of Europe five times. Now a top-half finish would be an achievement. While Hicks and Gillett cannot be held directly responsible for how the team plays, the decision of Rafael Benítez to let Xabi Alonso go being football's equivalent of a DIY lobotomy, the slide has occurred on their watch – not that they have always been there to watch.

While the supporters will have been pleased with the week's turn of events at Anfield the possibility of swapping one set of transatlantic owners for another will surely leave them reserving judgment on the prospective new owners until the colour, indeed of the existence, of their money is put to the test. It is unfortunate that John W Henry, who leads the group of 17 investors making up New England Sports Ventures, owners of the Red Sox, sounds like someone who sings "There's a hole in my bucket dear Liza dear Liza ..." To which the Kop could always reply: "Then mend it dear Henry dear Henry ..."

At least the latest twist in Liverpool's problems off the pitch have pushed their difficulties on it into the background for a bit. It was only last weekend that they were beaten at home by Blackpool, a result that guaranteed their place in the relegation zone for the international fortnight, at the end of which they will meet Everton at Goodison Park. Roy Hodgson for one may be grateful that, for the moment, most of the media's interest in Anfield concerns fiscal rather than football matters.

Hodgson must be reliving a bad dream just now. Television highlights of the Blackpool game could not resist cutaway shots of Kenny Dalglish in the stand, and of course, a section of the Anfield crowd had to plead for the legend's return as manager.

Still traumatised by memories of the Hillsborough disaster, Dalglish resigned at Liverpool early in 1991 but returned to management at Blackburn Rovers and led them to the Premier League championship in 1995 before becoming the director of football at Ewood Park, leaving Ray Harford in charge of the team. Harford departed early in the 1996-97 season, with Blackburn bottom, whereupon Tony Parkes became caretaker and kept them up but was replaced by Hodgson the following season.

After only 16 months in charge Hodgson was sacked amid reports of dressing-room unrest. Now he finds himself again trying to pick up admittedly far more distant threads of where Dalglish left off, this time with the man himself looking on.

Some of Hodgson's signings at Blackburn were criticised, most notably his decision to pay Southampton £7.25m for a raw, unsophisticated 21-year-old striker, Kevin Davies, who is now in the England squad. Amid his present problems Hodgson can console himself that at least he got that one right ... eventually.

Liverpool's future was to be decided in the high court today with the validity of the club's sale to New England Sports Ventures in question. Here are the best images of the key players in today's case